Brazilian officials have expressed reluctance to purchasing dozens of military planes from the US after it was revealed that the NSA not only closely monitored Brazilian energy and military affairs, but also mined for commercial secrets.

The US had planned to sell Brazil - a country in the process of
revitalizing its Air Force - 36 fighter jets in a deal worth more
than US$4 billion. But when US Secretary of State John Kerry
meets with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday, the
leaders will not discuss the deal, a source near to the situation
told Reuters.

Kerry traveled to Colombia before making his way to Brazil in an
attempt to repair relations with Latin American nations after NSA
leaker Edward Snowden disclosed documents showing that the US
spied on communications related to the military, political and
terror issues, and energy policies.

“We cannot talk about the fighters now…You cannot give such a
contract to a country that you do not trust,” the source
said.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. is competing for the $4 billion contract
against France’s Rafale and Sweden’s Gripen, although the longer
Brazil goes without choosing, the more likely it is that other
competitors will enter the fray.

Rousseff delayed a decision on the fighter jets because of budget
woes and widespread demonstrations protesting austerity and
government corruption.

“I don’t expect the president to decide on the fighter
contract this year, and next year is an election year so it might
have to wait until 2015,” a Brazilian government source said.

Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Patriota, informed United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon of the nation’s situation
as recently as last week.

Tuesday’s visit will be Kerry’s first trip to Brazil as Secretary
of State.

But it’s not just Brazil that was reportedly upset over the NSA
revelations. Even Colombia – one of Washington’s closest allies
in the region – was unhappy about the information revealed. In
Bogota, Kerry aimed to play down the rift during a press
conference.

“Frankly, we work on a huge number of issues and this was in
fact a very small part of the overall conversation and one in
which I’m confident I was able to explain precisely that this has
received the support of all three branches of our
government,” Kerry told reporters. “It has been completely
conducted under our Constitution and the law…The president has
taken great steps in the last few days…to reassure people of the
US intentions here.”

US Vice President Joe Biden has visited Brazil and Colombia, and
President Barack Obama recently made a three-day trip to Mexico
and Puerto Rico. Both trips have been portrayed as evidence of US
politicking below the equator.

During his visit to Brazil, Biden said that stronger trade ties
should usher in a new era of relations between Washington and
Brasília.

How long that goodwill will last remains to be seen, according
Carl Meacham, former Latin America adviser on the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and director of the Americas Program at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“I think the tone of the
visit will be a bit tense because of these issues raised by the
surveillance [program] and I think Secretary Kerry will have to
speak to that,” he told AP.